Help Young Saudi Woman "G"

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned for 19-year-old "G", a Saudi Arabian woman who faces a sentence of 90 lashes by the Criminal Courts of Saudi Arabia.

In November, 2006, 19-year-old "G" was sentenced to 90 lashes under Islamic law for the crime of being alone with a man not related to her, an offense known as "Khilwa" under Shariah Law. Five months after her original sentence, the punishment has yet to be carried out.

According to reports in the Khaleej Times and other World News sources, the young woman referred to as "G" told both the courts and reporters that she was blackmailed by a man she was not related to, and was afraid of refusing because of the false accusations that he was threatening. The two of them were then abducted by several offenders and were driven to a secluded area where she was raped by seven men 14 times in three hours. After these crimes were committed against her, she was beaten by her brother for bringing shame on her family and attempted to commit suicide because of the emotional and physical ordeal.

Urgent action is needed on behalf of this young woman. She, like many other Islamic women, was caught between two very undesirable options. On one hand, she could have attempted to resist the blackmailer, which most likely would have resulted in bodily harm, death, or severe punishment for what crimes he might have accused her of. On the other hand, she chose to appease the blackmailer and attempt to disassociate herself from any false accusations that he might have brought on her. Because of that decision, she was then brutally raped and beaten and now sentenced, on top of those sufferings, to 90 lashes for not resisting the blackmailer and for getting into his car.

Moreover, the story of this young woman has triggered debate, even among the Saudi Arabian people themselves, about the inconsistencies in the Saudi Arabian judicial system and its failure to reflect the gravity of the crimes committed against this woman. In 1997, the United Nations commission on human rights stated that "corporal punishment (such as flogging) can amount to cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment, or even torture". As a state party to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Saudi Arabia is in violation of this international standard by carrying out this punishment of flogging.

We urge that the sentence of 90 lashes imposed on the young woman referred to as "G" be commuted immediately;
We urge the authorities to carry out a thorough review of the case, in particular the inconsistencies in the treatment of Saudi Arabian women;
We appeal to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the Members of the High Criminal Courts of Saudi Arabia to have mercy on this young women;
We appeal to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and leaders of the country of Saudi Arabia to honor their commitment to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment(CAT) and the findings of the 1997 United Nations Commission, specifically in the case of the young women known as "G".